Drinker of Souls
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: Pete and Myka head to New York City on their latest case as three shriveled up bodies are discovered with deep, mysterious stab wounds. They later discover their killer murders his victims using a sword with a dark power when Pete comes face to face with their villain and is severely wounded. Artie, Claudia, and Steve joins the two agents. This story is set within season three.
1. Chapter 1

Drinker of Souls

Chapter One

Sometime after midnight, a young gymnast in his mid twenties was running hard through Central Park, as he was being chased by a man, who wore a black mask over his eyes, a tuxedo, and a long black cloak, as if he thought of himself as a mix of Zorro and James Bond. The gymnast had been there to meet up with someone he had met online, but when he arrived, he found this man, whoever he was, waiting for him instead.

As he took off running in hopes of finding help, he struggled to call 911 on his cell phone, but dropped it because he was shaking in fear and he didn't stop to pick it back up. As he was about to reach the exit, the young man suddenly ran into a woman, causing them both to crumble to the ground. He struggled to get back up as he started begging her for help, but the woman began to try to seduce him, rather than pay attention to what he was saying. From the way she was dressed, he quickly deduced that she was a prostitute.

Once he was back up on his feet, he turned to run again, but ended up running straight into his attacker, who suddenly thrust a long, dark sword through his chest, then pulled it back out with just as much strength. The woman, still on the ground, screamed hysterically as she watched the masked man stab the younger man and in order to quiet her, stuck his sword into her abdomen, holding it there until she was dead.

The gymnast struggled to breathe while he looked up into his attacker's eyes, which appeared to glow red, as the man knelt down over him. The man smiled and then began to wipe off his victim's blood from the sword slowly in hopes of taunting him. The young man softly begged for him to spare his life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

As the attacker finished, he put the weapon back into the sheath on his belt and said, "I'm sorry you won't make it for your date. Your soul called out to us. We can feel it and we can feel hers as well. Thank you."

The man stood up, as the gymnast died after his body had wilted and shriveled up, then slowly walked away, leaving behind the two bodies for anyone to find. As he did so, he was mesmerized by a whispering voice that only he could hear, as it spoke to him, telling him it was thirsty and ordered him to find it another. The masked murderer only nodded as he smiled and disappeared into the shadows.

Univille, South Dakota…

The next morning, Myka, Artie, Claudia, and Leena were all sitting at the dining room table at Leena's bed and breakfast, while Pete was jumping all around the room, wildly telling them all about the big fight on TV he had watched on his own the night before. Everyone was laughing, except for Artie, as he was trying to concentrate on a voicemail left for him by Vanessa.

"For crying out loud, Pete, sometimes you can be such a child!" Artie said in exasperation after finally hanging up the phone. "Couldn't you see I was on the phone?"

"Of course, Artie, but oh you should have seen it!" Pete cried out animatedly. "Kingpin took down The Hammer with a knuckle punch to the left side of his head and then finished him off with a rabbit punch. It may have disqualified him from the match, but it was amazing!"

Artie stared at Pete as he responded, "If I had any idea what you just said, I would try to join in on your excitement, but as usual, I don't."

Myka spoke up as she replied, "A rabbit punch, is an illegal punch to the back of the boxer's head or his body. The Kingpin is a dirty fighter with a hot temper, who's been disqualified on several occasions."

The others looked at her in surprise as Claudia asked, "And how on earth do you know that?"

"I may have listened to Pete briefly once or twice when he's gone on and on about this stuff," Myka answered in shame.

"Forgive me, Myka, but these boxing matches are not stuff," Pete protested. 'It's the ultimate sport. It's raw power and anger. It's awesome!"

"You say that every sport you get into is the ultimate sport," Leena said. "You said it when we watched this year's Superbowl."

Claudia added, "That's right! And you said it when you watched the Daytona 400, as well as the World Series."

Pete finally spoke up again as he retorted, "First of all, it's the Daytona 500, not 400. Secondly, I don't say every sport is the ultimate sport. I hate golf because it's boring, volleyball, unless it's played by women, is, I don't know what it is, and rugby is just stupid. Believe me, I don't like every sport."

"Whatever!" Artie spoke up again finally. "I've got a new case for you and Myka. I got a voice message from Vanessa…"

"Ooh, Vanessa, your girlfriend!" Pete interrupted in fun.

Artie barked, "Grow up!"

Pete quickly sat down in his seat as he softly responded sheepishly, "Sorry."

"As I was saying," the older man continued. "Vanessa wants the two of you to investigate the unnatural and freaky deaths of three victims, the third one being found in Central Park. She wants you to meet her at the morgue. I'll text you the address."

"New York City; all right!" Pete replied again in excitement. "Are you sure you don't want to come so you can see your, lady friend?"

Artie glared at the younger agent as he said, "You will never change, will you?"

Pete smiled as he answered, "You know you wouldn't have it any other way."

"Pete's right, Artie," Myka agreed. "As annoying as he is, you would miss him if he left and so would the rest of us."

"Just get out of here and go pack, will you?" Artie responded in frustration. "I will call her back to let her know that you're on your way. Good bye!"

Claudia followed Pete and Myka out of the room and up the stairs as she said, "I'd say Mr. Grumpy woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Artie shouted out from the dining room, "I heard that!"

"Sorry!" she shouted back.

About forty minutes later, Pete and Myka had finished packing their bags, then left Univille to drive to the nearest airport in order to catch the next flight out to New York City. On the plane, Myka read her latest book she was currently reading, while Pete struggled to sleep, as he had not been sleeping much over the last few days. He's been getting strange vibes that were telling him that something bad was going to happen soon, but he had no idea what it was and it's troubled him. He wanted to tell Myka, but decided against it until he could figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Two

As Pete and Myka arrived at the address Artie had sent them, they walked inside the morgue and were greeted by Vanessa Calder, Artie's somewhat girlfriend and the warehouse's doctor. She smiled at them and walked them over to the freezer where this morgue's morticians had stored the body, which she suspected was killed by an artifact.

"Hello, Myka, Pete," she said as they followed after her. "How have you been?"

"We're doing well," Myka answered. "The last few weeks have been kind of quiet. I have to say, it's been nice to be able to catch up on my reading."

Vanessa turned to her and asked, "And what is it that you're reading right now?"

Myka replied, "Moby Dick. I read it once a long time ago and I loved it. I wanted to reread it."

"That book is so long and boring," Pete responded as he pretended to fall asleep. "I was supposed to read it in high school, but I couldn't get past the first chapter."

"Moby Dick is a great classic," Myka said. "It's no wonder you couldn't read it. The toughest thing you've ever read is probably a batman comic."

Pete laughed sarcastically, then replied, "Very funny, Myka. And no, I've read other books, like… well, I'm not really sure, but I have read some of the classics."

Myka laughed and responded, "Sure you have. So, what do you have for us Vanessa?"

The woman opened the freezer and pulled out the drawer with the covered up body as she began, "This body, as well as the other three bodies I've seen, has been completely shriveled up, not like a mummy, but like a person in his late nineties has died and had not been found until days later and decomposition would not make a body look like this."

"Why would someone target someone so old and stab them to death?" Pete asked as he and Myka both looked closer at the wound. "Most serial killers target much younger victims. Is this a knife wound?"

"At first glance, I thought so, but when I turned the body over, I found that what our killer used went into the stomach and all the way out through the back," Vanessa continued. "The other bodies had similar stab wounds. A simple knife is not long enough to do that, nor would it have left such a clean cut. No, I would say he or she used a very sharp blade; most likely a long dagger."

"And what makes you think that these deaths involve an artifact?" Myka asked as they both straightened up and looked over at Vanessa.

Vanessa walked over and pulled out a bag containing the young man's wallet and the other victim's wallets as well, then answered, "I didn't when I looked over the first body, but when I looked through her personal belongings, I found that her license said that she was in her late twenties. I figured that it was someone else's wallet, but after doing the dental work, they matched."

Myka looked at the license pictures and said, "Each of the victims are young, not old."

"I also found a digital camera with pictures taken yesterday on our current victim," the doctor replied. "He was killed sometime last night, along with another woman, whose body was found beside him in the same condition."

"All right, I agree that it must have been an artifact, but what kind of weapon has the power to do this?" Pete asked.

Myka responded, "We should give Artie and Claudia a call to let him know what's going on. Hopefully, they can find something in their research. Thank you, Vanessa. We'll be in touch."

Vanessa nodded and then answered, "Good luck and be careful."

Pete and Myka walked out of the morgue and headed over to a small café across the street in order to get themselves something to eat. Neither one of them had eaten anything since breakfast early that morning and it was now after four o'clock in the afternoon. As they sat at a table as far away from the other customers as they could find, Myka pulled out their Farnsworth and called up the others, back at the warehouse, and explained what they had learned from Vanessa.

"So, we're dealing with some kind of dagger that shrivels up its victims when they are killed," Artie said as he began to look through a few of his books, while Claudia looked up information on her computer. "Off hand, there are no artifacts that I can think of that have this kind of power. It's a bit strange. What is the point of this kind of weapon if this guy's killing his victims almost instantly?"

"We'll keep looking, but it looks like there are a number of famous daggers, as well as swords in the archive," Claudia replied. "It's going to take awhile to search through."

Just before Myka hung up, she responded, "Thank you guys!"

Pete spoke up again after taking a few bites of his chili, saying, "This stuff is amazing! It's the best chili I've ever tasted. Myka, you've got to try some."

Myka shook her head and answered, "No thanks. I'll stick to my sandwich. Now, are you going to tell me what's been on with you lately?"

"What are you talking about?" Pete asked. "I'm fine."

"Pete, I noticed that you were having a hard time sleeping on the plane on our way down here and you've been tired for a few days now," Myka said in concern as she placed her hand on top of one of his. "Something is troubling you. Please, tell me."

Pete shook his head and replied, "It's nothing. I promise you, I'm fine."

Myka shook her head and responded, "I know that's a lie. Is it a vibe?"

"All right, I've been having these vibes that something bad is going to happen soon, but I have no idea what it is," Pete answered in frustration. "I wasn't going to tell you until I could figure it out. I didn't want to worry you."

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't have noticed?" she asked again.

Pete snickered and said, "You know me too well. I'm sorry, but I just wanted to be sure. These vibes feel just like the ones I got back when I first started having them; when my father died. I am just as confused and worried now, as I was then."

Myka replied sincerely, "Except now, you have friends to help you figure out what they mean."

Before Pete could say any more, his phone rang and when he looked at the caller ID, he saw that it someone he hadn't spoken to since they had worked a tough case together, back when an artifact had cause him to go crazy and see things that weren't really there; his ex girlfriend, Agent Kate Logan.

"Kate, what's going on?" Pete said over his phone as he mouthed that he was surprised she would call him to Myka.

"_Hello to you too, Pete,_" she responded. "_It's good to hear you voice again as well._"

Pete rolled his eyes as he replied, "I'm sorry, Kate, but I'm kind of in the middle of something and as I recall, the last time I saw you, things were a bit complicated."

She spoke up again saying, "_You're right and I'm sorry to call out of the blue, but I am afraid this isn't a social call either._"

"What's going on?" Pete asked as he suddenly became serious.

"_A prostitute went to the police station to report that she saw a strange man wearing a black mask over his eyes, a long black cloak, a tuxedo, and carried with him a sword, murder her best friend and some other guy, late last night, here in New York City,_" she answered as he quickly put his phone on speaker so Myka could listen. "_The police laughed her out of the station, but she came to us too. The FBI laughed her out too, but in the remote chance she was telling the truth about this guy, I figured it would be worth asking you. It sounds a bit up your alley._"

Pete thought for a minute, then asked again, "Wait, don't you work in the Chicago field office?"

She responded, "_I still do, but my boss loaned me out to the New York field office for a big case. I just so happened to be around when this woman came in with the complaint. What do you think? Could this be one of your kinds of cases?_"

"It just so happens that we're here in New York as well to investigate a case that could explain a costume wearing, sword wielding perp," Pete replied. "Send us the address for this woman so we can go and speak with her. Thanks for the information, Kate."

"_Not a problem,_" she answered. "_Let me know if you need my help. Oh, and Pete, try not to get yourself in trouble this time._"

Pete smiled and said, "I'll do the best I can. Bye."

Myka finally spoke up, as Pete hung up his phone, saying, "It looks like we've got ourselves a witness. Maybe she'll be able to give us a good description of our killer."

"Let's hope," Pete agreed. "It's possible we may be home sooner than we thought."


	3. Chapter 3

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Three

Pete and Myka took a cab to the address given to them by Kate and within twenty-five minutes, they pulled up in front of a broken down apartment building. They walked inside and knocked on the door to the apartment, where they were hoping to find the woman, who had witnessed the death of her friend and the man, whose body had been found next to her.

Just as they were about to give up after knocking three times, the woman finally opened the door a crack and quietly asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Myka moved in front of the door and pulled out her badge to show the woman as she answered calmly, "Forgive us for the interruption, Miss. Carroll. I'm Agent Myka Bering and this is my partner, Agent Pete Lattimer. We're with the secret service and we'd like to ask you a few questions about…"

"What would the secret service want with someone like me?" Lindsay Carroll asked bitterly. "Aren't you guys supposed to protect the President, or something?"

"Our job is a little bit different than that," Pete responded. "Can we come in and talk with you, just for a few minutes, please?"

She finally nodded and closed the door in order to pull off the chain, then opened it back up in order to let Myka and Pete in. After they were inside, she closed the door behind them, walked around them to try to clean up a few things she had left out, and then offered them a cup of coffee.

Both Myka and Pete declined, then Myka went on and said, "We understand that you witnessed something terrible last night, is that right?"

Lindsay looked at them in surprise as she replied, "That's right. How did you know about that and how did you know where to find me? Anyone I've talked to about this just laughed at me and told me I was crazy."

"We don't believe you're crazy, Miss. Carroll," Myka answered with compassion in her voice. "In fact, we believe that what you saw was very real."

"Lindsay; you can call me Lindsay," she responded. "And I'm not sure what's better; that I'm crazy or that I really did see that man kill my friend."

Myka continued, "Can you tell us exactly what it was that you saw, Lindsay? The more detail you can give us, the sooner it is we can find the man, who killed your friend."

Lindsay nodded as she began, "As you must know, my friend and I are prostitutes. She and I were supposed to meet a friend just outside of Central Park, but I walked across the street to the market to get something to drink, while she stayed there. When I walked back out, I heard her scream and ran over just in time to see her and some guy get stabbed through the chest with a sword, by a man with a black mask over his eyes, a cape, and he wore a tuxedo, like James Bond."

"Can you describe the man or what this sword looked like?" Pete asked.

"I only know what I just told you," Lindsay replied as she began to turn away. "It was too dark to see anymore, except… never mind. It was just my imagination."

Myka placed her hands on her shoulders to turn her back around to face her as she asked, "What is it, Lindsay? What else did you see? I promise, you can tell us. We believe you."

She answered fearfully, "When he stabbed both of them, it looked like his eyes glowed; like they glowed red, but that's impossible. I don't blame people for not believing me. I don't even believe me."

"As my partner said, we do," Pete said as he smiled. "Thank you, Ma'am. You've been a big help."

"Will you really find this man and make him pay for what he did to my friend?" Lindsay asked hopefully.

Pete nodded and responded, "Of course. It's what me and my partner do and we're really good at it."

Lindsay replied, 'Thank you both very much."

"Just promise us you'll take care of yourself," Myka answered as she and Pete opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. "We'll be in touch when we're done."

"So, we've got a Zorro slash James Bond wannabe, whose eyes glow red when he kills his victims with a magical sword," Pete said as they left the building. "I'm guessing we're not dealing with King Arthur with his trusted Excalibur."

Myka shook her head as she responded, "Definitely not, but it sound likes this sword is definitely the artifact. It must give him a bloodlust. According to Vanessa, he's killed at least four people in a week and that's only the victims we know about. It's possible he's killed more in other states or cities."

Pete replied sarcastically, "That's just great. So, what now? Are we supposed to…?"

"Pete, what's wrong?" Myka asked quickly as Pete suddenly stumbled and began to stare off blankly, as he often did when he got a vibe. "What are you sensing?"

"I think our killer's just found his next victim," Pete answered fearfully after a minute of silence. "The guy's close. This way!"

Pete suddenly took off running down the street and into Central Park, which was a few blocks away from the apartment building. Myka took off after him as quickly as she could. By the time she caught up to him, as she accidentally ran into him when he quickly came to a dead stop, they both saw a man dressed exactly as Lindsay had described holding up a sword directly over a man on the ground, who was dressed in a jogging suit.

Pete shouted out to the masked man, who then quickly stabbed the man on the ground in the upper chest near his left shoulder and took off running. Pete ran after him, as Myka ran to help the wounded man. She dialed 911 as she put her free hand over the wound to try to stop the blood flow.

Pete came running back over to his partner and the jogger just as the ambulance and the policemen arrived on the scene. Pete bent over and put his hands down on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath, while the paramedics got to work on the victim. After watching them for a few minutes, she walked over to Pete and placed a comforting hand over the back of his shoulder, as he slowly raised himself back up.

Pete remained silent until Myka finally asked, "Are you all right? What happened?"

Pete shook his head and responded, "That monster got away. I tried to stop him, but… he was really fast!"

"Are you all right?" Myka asked again.

"I'm fine," Pete replied angrily. "But I'm angry that I allowed him to get away from me. I should have caught him, but, it's like my nerves got the best of me. There's something very wrong going on here and I couldn't shake it. I'm sorry."

Myka shook her head as she said, "Don't be. You did all you could. I'm just glad you're ok. Did you get a good look at him?"

Pete answered, "I'm afraid we're still working from Lindsay's description. It's about all I could see too."

Some time later, the two agents arrived at the hospital to check on the jogger, but as they arrived in his room, a nurse was just finishing stripping down the bed and was about to walk out, until Myka stopped her and asked, "Where is the man admitted here earlier with the sword wound?"

"I'm afraid the young man died," she responded sadly.

"Died, but that's impossible," Myka said in shock. "I mean, his wound wasn't that bad, was it?"

The nurse replied, "No it wasn't, but he lost a lot of blood. It must have been too much for him, but that isn't what was weird. I mean…"

Pete asked, "What is it, Ma'am? What did you see?"

"I found his body only a half hour after I had talked with him earlier, but it was already decomposing, I think," she answered. "Though, I've never seen a body decompose like that and it's impossible for it to do so, so fast."

The nurse walked away, leaving Myka and Pete alone in the room. Myka then proceeded to call up Artie and Claudia on their Farnsworth to inform them on everything that's happened so far that day. As she spoke with them, she observed Pete's demeanor while he was lost in thought, as he clearly still appeared to be troubled. She was worried about him, but didn't say anymore about to him that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Four

The next morning, Myka stepped out of the hotel that she and Pete were staying at while they were staying in New York City, in order to go and get herself and her partner some breakfast. As far as she knew, Pete was still asleep, as it was early and he hated mornings, but she wanted to bring him something to cheer him up.

She stood in line at a Starbuck's, then once she made it to the counter, she proceeded to order two black coffees, a bran muffin for herself, and a couple of sprinkle coated donuts for Pete, as she knew that's how he liked them. She couldn't help but laugh as she told the cashier behind the counter what she wanted. In many ways, he was like a child, but she wouldn't try to change him for anything. It was what made him different than any other stuffy government agent, including herself, she ever knew and the truth was, she liked it.

As Myka finished, she was about to walk back into the hotel, but she suddenly spotted someone wearing a suit, staring at her from across the street and she didn't need Pete's vibes to tell her that something wasn't right. As soon as he realized she had spotted him, he took off running down the street. Myka quickly handed off the breakfast she had gotten to the doorman standing nearby and took off running after the man.

Meanwhile…

Pete was already awake, as he was slowly getting ready for the day in his room. After he had taken a shower, he began to get dressed and was about to put on his shoes, he suddenly felt another bad vibe that almost caused him to fall off his bed. He quickly threw on his shoes without tying them, then ran down the stairs to the lobby, and out the door.

The doorman recognized him as the man, who had arrived with the woman he had just seen take off after someone else, and suddenly spoke up saying, "Are you looking for your wife, Sir?"

Pete gave him a double take and then asked, "My wife? Do you mean my partner, the tall dark haired woman I arrived with yesterday? What about her? Did you see her this morning?"

"Yeah, she took off running down the street, after some guy in a suit; that way," the doorman answered. "Are the two of you cops?"

"Something like that," Pete replied as he quickly ran off in the direction the doorman had told him Myka had gone.

Myka chased the man about three blocks until she reached an alley, where she knew he had to have gone down, as there was no other way he could have gone. It wasn't a dead end, but there was no one around, which made her feel uneasy, so she pulled out her service weapon and cautiously walked forward.

After a few minutes, Myka suspected that he had escaped, but it was then that she saw someone's shadow on the wall beside her out of the corner of her eye, as he was sneaking up from behind her and she tried to dodge out of the way, but he was faster as he shoved her forward to the ground.

She quickly turned over and attempted to raise her gun up, but he kicked it out of her hands. As she finally got a good look at the man, she found he was indeed the man she had just been chasing after, but she saw he was also their killer, as he was now wearing his black mask he wore to hide his eyes and was holding up a long, dark sword above her. She looked up at him fearfully as he was smiling crookedly and was about to strike, until he was suddenly shocked by electricity, she knew was coming from a telsa gun. Pete had arrived.

As her assailant was distracted by Pete's attack, Myka quickly pulled herself out of the way and stood up from the ground. However, the killer, who seemed upset, but unfazed by the electrocution, suddenly spun around and swung the sword at Pete's right wrist in order to knock the weapon from his hand, cutting a large gash across the top of his arm. Pete gave a small cry as the telsa gun fell to the ground, but quickly shut his mouth and ignored the pain as he then stared at the man, who began to walk toward him.

Pete slowly began to back away as he said, "Ok, that totally should have knocked him out cold. Who the heck does this guy think he is; the terminator?"

Myka cried out to Pete asking, "Did you turn the telsa gun to full power?"

"Of course I did!" he called back. "Are you seeing this guy? It didn't even faze him. A little help, Myka!"

'Hang on!" she shouted as she looked down to the ground to look for her gun, while Pete took off running away from the man as he continued to advance on him, but as they both turned out of the alley and walked back into the public, the swordsman took off running in the opposite direction as Pete and disappeared into the crowd.

Pete stopped when he realized he was no longer being chased, then ran back over to Myka just as she came running out of the alley herself. She quickly looked around for their attacker, but she too found he was no longer in sight. Pete walked back into the alley in search for the telsa gun, picked it up when he found it, and began to stare off at nothing.

Myka walked up behind him, gently put a hand on his shoulder, and asked, "Pete, are you all right?"

Pete turned to face her as he responded, "I'm fine. I just can't believe that this gun didn't hurt or slow him down at all."

"That sword must give him super strength or something like… God Pete, you're hurt!" she suddenly cried out as she looked down at his arm and saw the bloody gash.

"It's just a scratch," Pete answered as he looked down at it himself. "It's nothing, I promise."

She replied, "It's not nothing, Pete. You saw what that thing did to the others."

Pete looked at her confusingly and responded, "Yeah, I saw what it did to the others, but their wounds were fatal. Mine's just a scratch as I just said. I'm fine."

"But Pete, what if..." she began to say until a thought suddenly donned on her. "Wait a minute, I think I've heard of this sword, or a sword like this one before. I need to call Artie."

She quickly pulled out the Farnsworth from her pocket and pushed the button to call the warehouse, but when Artie picked up, he quickly said, "Myka! I was just about to call you. I think I just discovered what artifact we're dealing with here."

Claudia suddenly chimed in as she retorted, "Excuse me? I believe it was me, who discovered what the artifact is. Don't go taking the credit, Artimus."

"Excuse me," Artie answered sarcastically. "What I was trying to say, Myka, before I was so rudely interrupted, is that Claudia thinks she discovered what the sword is."

"Please tell me it isn't 'Stormbringer," she quickly asked in fear.

Pete spoke up as he asked, "What exactly is a storm bringer?"

Artie looked at Myka in surprise as he replied, "Yes, we believe it is exactly that. How did you…?"

"It doesn't matter, Artie," Myka responded firmly. "Please tell me…"

"Hello!" Pete interrupted more loudly. "What is a storm bringer?"

Claudia chimed in again saying, "Stormbringer is the name of a black sword that is featured in a number of famous fantasy novels, written by an author by the name of Michael Moorcock. According to his books, this sword was created by the forces of Chaos, some kinds of gods. Anyway, this sword is extremely powerful and dangerous, as you already know."

Artie continued, "This black sword is actually alive and a member of a demon race, actually taking on the form of the sword. It's enchanted somehow and it can cut through virtually any material known to man, but the worst part is, that it basically drinks the souls of any human upon delivering any wound no matter how fatal or non fatal the wound is."

"Even a scratch?" Myka asked sadly as a tear suddenly fell down her cheek.

"Yes, even a scratch," Artie answered. "It will take longer for the victim to die, but eventually the sword will drain his or her life force, giving the sword's wielder the victim's strength."

Pete shook his head in disbelief and looked down at the scratch on his arm as he said, "Surely this, 'Stormbringer' is just a stupid idea created by some cheesy fantasy writer. It can't be real, can it?"

Artie mockingly replied, "Ever heard of Through the Looking Glass? The looking glass was a real artifact, but it was also an idea. Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, Artie," Myka responded in frustration. "The sword cut Pete. It's just a gash in his arm, but…"

"How long do you think I've got to help Myka catch this guy before… you know?" Pete asked before she could say any more about how worried she was about him.

Artie looked at Claudia, then back at Myka as he answered solemnly, "I'm not sure, but we'll do everything we can to find out how to stop this thing before it drains your soul completely, but be careful. It's possible that the more strength and energy you use, the faster the sword will kill you, Pete. Claudia and I are on our way there to help you, but in the meantime, Myka, concentrate on finding the artifact. Pete, you need to rest."

Pete shrugged and replied, "That's just great."


	5. Chapter 5

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Five

Once they walked back to the hotel, Pete and Myka went up to his room and as he took a seat on his bed, Myka bent down and dug through his bag for the first aid kit they had packed so that she could clean and bandage up the gash on his arm. Pete remained silent as she worked, as he was once again lost in thought. Myka kept glancing up at him and couldn't help, but think that he already looked more drained than he was the night before.

When she finished, Myka stood as she finally spoke saying, "I'm going down to the hotel's restaurant to get us something to eat, since we didn't get the breakfast I had bought for us earlier. Is there anything in particular you would like?"

Pete shook his head and answered, "I'm not really hungry, at least not right now, but I'll probably eat a big, juicy burger tonight for dinner. I would really like one of Artie's cookies right about now. It's too bad we're not back in Univille right now. I think I'm just going to try to take a nap."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I told you, I'm fine, Myka," Pete replied as he sensed her worry for him. "I'm just going to take a nap. You and Artie did tell me I needed to rest in case our artifact really is this, 'Stormbringer.' Just another day in the office so to speak, huh?"

Myka walked to the door as she responded, "All right. I'll be down in the lobby or in my room if you need me."

Pete nodded and lay down as she turned and left the room, but as soon as she was gone, he quickly sat back up and pulled out his cell phone. He knew that neither Myka, nor Artie would approve of what he was about to do, but he was willing to take upon himself any of the consequences of his actions, should they arise.

When he dialed the number, her voice came on the line as she answered, "_Kate Logan. Who's this?_"

"It's me, Kate," Pete replied.

"_Pete?_" she asked in surprise. "_I have to say that I didn't expect to hear from you again so soon. It'd be nice if you actually gave me your number, so that I would know when it was you calling me._"

Pete chuckled as he responded, "Why, so that you'd know when to ignore a call?"

She laughed and answered, "_Well said. Did you find whatever or whoever it was you and your partner were looking for?_"

"Actually no, not yet," Pete replied solemnly. "That's actually what I was calling you about. I know you've already done more than enough yesterday and in the past to help me, but I'm afraid I really need your help again. It's urgent."

"_Are you all right?_" she asked genuinely.

Pete hesitated, then responded dolefully, "I'm afraid that there's a good chance I've become affected by a… well something dangerous and before too long, I may not be able to have Myka's back. I know I'm asking a lot and that you are probably really busy, but… I could really use your help, Kate.

She looked around at her co-workers and said, "_Pete, you know that I'm in the middle of a case. I don't know if I can just… I'll see what I can do. Where are you staying so that I can find you?_"

"We're staying at a Hilton on Sixth Avenue and Main Street," Pete answered. "There's a doorman at the one here. It's incredible! I appreciate this, Kate. More than you will ever know. Our friends from South Dakota are on their way, but I can't risk my partner finding this guy on her own before they get here."

"_Of course,_" she agreed. "_I'll be there as soon as I can. Take it easy._"

Pete hung up his phone, placed it down on the dresser beside him, and then lay down once again in hopes of really getting some sleep this time. He was grateful for the chance to be alone, as Myka would be waiting on him hand and foot out of worry for him. Under normal circumstances, he would relish the chance to tease her about doing so, but not when his life was on the line.

Forty-five minutes later…

Down in the lobby, Myka sat alone at the bar, staring on her computer, as she read up on all she could find on 'Stormbringer' and all of the novels written around the black sword. The bartender walked over to her once again and asked her if she'd like a drink, but just as before, she declined, but ordered a straight, black coffee instead.

When she finally managed to find a decent picture of the dark sword told about in the books and pulled it up on the screen, she saw that the artifact their masked villain had used to hurt Pete was indeed 'Stormbringer.' She also discovered that the author was briefly in an asylum because he claimed that he had seen a red eyed demon in the form of a man, as he killed another man twice his size with the sword, which he later swore he had made up in his mind for the plot of his greatest novel. The information about him being in the asylum for a psychotic episode was not public knowledge, but Myka had her ways of finding the information she needed, no matter where she had to look.

As the bartender left to help other customers after delivering to Myka her third cup of coffee, Kate walked up behind the agent and spoke up saying, "Hello again, Myka. I take it from the number of coffee cups beside you that you've got a long night ahead of you?"

Myka looked at her in surprise as she asked, "Kate, what are you doing here?"

"Pete actually asked me to come," the woman answered. "He called me a little while ago, asking me to come and help you, at least until your friends arrive, because he was afraid that whatever it is he came into contact with, would prevent him from having your back. He's worried about you."

"Pete," Myka grumbled in frustration. "I can't believe he's worrying about me. He's the one in trouble and it's my fault."

Kate looked at her in confusion as she asked, "What do you mean your fault?"

Myka replied, "I took off after the man we've been chasing since we've arrived on my own. I was in trouble and Pete saved my life. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead, but he got hurt and now he's the one in trouble."

"Can you tell me what it is you're chasing, or who it is?" Kate asked again. "Or is that top secret?"

"If you're going to be sticking around, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, but until then, I can't tell you," Myka responded. "At least not until, Artie says so, unless of course Mrs. Frederic interferes."

Kate replied, "Who is Mrs. Frederic?"

Myka smiled and answered, "Never mind. Unfortunately, she's a bit top secret as well."


	6. Chapter 6

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Six

Artie and Claudia arrived at the hotel where Pete and Myka were staying within nine hours after Myka had called them about Pete becoming infected by their latest artifact. When they entered the elevator and got out on the floor where the agent's rooms were, they walked down the hall and ran into Myka as she was coming out of Pete's room.

Myka quietly closed the door, then quickly walked over to Artie and Claudia and gave them a hug as she said, "Thank God, you're here! I could really use your support, as well as your help to figure all this out. So far I've found out that…"

Artie cut her off as he responded, "Take it easy, Myka. Just relax. We're going to find the sword, as well as our monster, and we're going to save Pete. Now, how is he doing?"

"He's all right for now," she answered. "He's sleeping right now, which is great, as he's struggled to for days. I don't want to wake him, but I'm also worried that if I don't, then…"

"Then he won't wake at all," Claudia finished the sentence for her.

Myka nodded and sadly replied, "Exactly."

Artie shook his head and said, "No, Pete is strong and in good shape. If his wound was more severe than just a scratch on his arm, then I would worry, but I promise you, we've got time. Now, what have you figured out so far?"

"Well, first of all, Pete called in some help," Myka responded.

"What kind of help?" Artie asked in frustration.

Kate walked out of her room just as Myka answered, "He called in Kate here to help me until you got here and actually, I'd like to ask her to stay on until we solve this case. She's been a big help already. It turns out she's a great sketch artist. I gave her a description of our bad guy."

Kate spoke up saying, "And I already got us a name."

"You got a name already?" Myka asked in surprise as all of them walked back into the room in order to speak in private. "Even though he always wears a mask over his eyes?"

"Yeah, it turns out that your bad guy has been in the system before for two counts of assault," the FBI agent replied as she handed Myka a few pages she printed off from her friends at the FBI. "Our technology has matched up the eyes and other facial features that Myka described. His name is Reed Harlan. However, the strange thing is that our records state that he was born in 1856."

Claudia asked, "1856, but how is that even possible?"

Artie began, "I'm not totally sure, but I think…"

"It wouldn't happen to be because our soul sucking demon not only absorbs our souls for strength, but to gain longer life, would it?" Pete said as he slowly and weakly walked into Myka's room. "Because I can feel my life being drained out right now."

"What are you doing up?" Myka cried out as she rushed over to Pete's side and helped him to sit down in the chair beside her bed. "You should be resting."

Artie asked, "Yes, the demon allows the sword's wielder to live eternally, unless something happens to him and a new wielder is chosen. Wait a minute, what do you mean you feel your life being drained?"

Pete answered, "I realize I'm greatly exhausted from the lack of sleep, but this is different. I'm not sure how else to explain it but, I think I can literally sense the demon slowly and painfully pulling my soul from my body. I guess I'm kind of like this thing's fountain of youth."

Pete suddenly collapsed to the ground from the chair as he struggled to breathe and felt what was like an intense heat surge through his entire body. Both Myka and Claudia ran over to him and held him in their arms until the pain passed. Myka held his head against her chest, resting her head on top, while she ran her fingers across the side of his face and cried softly.

"Oh my God!" Myka responded fearfully. "We need to find this guy and destroy the sword in order to destroy the demon fast. Please, tell me you know how to do that, Artie?"

"I'm not sure how we're going to locate this, Harlan, but we did manage to figure out how to destroy the sword," the older agent replied. "Unfortunately our usual method of tossing the artifact in the goo won't work, but if we throw it into our heating system back at the warehouse, it is the only fire hot enough to destroy it for good."

Kate spoke up as she asked, "Exactly, what kind of heating system do you use that can do something like that?"

Artie grumbled, "That's need to know information and you don't. No offense."

"None taken," the woman responded. "I somewhat knew what to expect when I came into this. What about Pete? He can't exactly help us without making himself worse."

"I'm not going to let you do this without me," Pete said firmly as he slowly forced himself to stand with Myka and Claudia's help.

Claudia answered, "Kate's right, Pete. You're in no condition to travel around and get into any fight we might encounter."

Artie shook his head and replied, "They're right. We're putting you on the next flight back to South Dakota, where we'll arrange for you and Vanessa to get a ride back home. She will do everything she can to keep you alive until we do what we need to do."

"You called Kate in to help us, Pete," Myka said in hopes of assuring Pete that they were going to be all right without him. "We're all going to be fine."

"Why exactly did you call her in?" Artie asked shortly. "Civilians are not supposed to know about this stuff."

Kate responded, "It's not like I haven't helped you guys out before?"

Artie answered, "That should not have happened either!"

"I'm sorry, Artie," Pete replied weakly. "I needed to make sure Myka had back up in case our guy came back for another attack before you got here. Besides, all of you could use an extra gun. Can't you just erase her memories of the next few days like they do in Men in Black?"

"This is not a movie," Artie said again as he rolled his eyes at Pete's comment. "And the less information we can say in front of her, the better. Do I make myself clear?"

"Aye Aye, Captain!" Pete, Myka, and Claudia responded sarcastically in unison, while Artie just glared at them as they gently helped Pete to their car in order to get back to where they were going to meet up with Vanessa.


	7. Chapter 7

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Seven

Artie walked into the morgue, where Vanessa was currently looking over the results of her findings on each of the bodies. As he walked into the room, Vanessa looked up from her reports and smiled. Artie smiled back, but he quickly pushed his pleasure of seeing her again aside.

"I wish we could meet under better circumstances," Artie said. "I mean, our Christmas plans didn't exactly work out. I want to thank you for agreeing to come with us back to the warehouse, while Myka and Claudia stay here to find our bad guy."

"I am glad to help and I'm sorry about Pete," she replied. "He's going to be all right you know. You guys are the best."

Artie chuckled and responded, "I wish we could feel your confidence, but unfortunately it's hard to when something bad like this happens to any one of us."

Vanessa answered, "It's because each of you have become a family. Each of you are different than any of the other agents in the past."

"I know," Artie said. "This is why we cannot waste anymore time here in New York. We need to get Pete back home and do whatever we can for him until we can destroy the demon possessed sword. I believe…"

"Artie!" Claudia shouted as she suddenly burst into the room. "Myka and Kate just started chasing after our perp again. We caught him spying again. Apparently the guy's keeping an eye on us."

It was then that a thought donned on Artie as he quickly replied, "What if the sword's holder is drawn to his victims after he attacks them. We know that the two victims killed in the park died right away because their wounds were fatal and then the one killed afterwards died shortly after the attack because of the huge loss of blood, but Vanessa, were any of the other victims' wound serious enough for them to have died as quickly? I mean, were they fatal or were they more like Pete's?"

Vanessa answered, "Actually, come to think of it, two of our other victims' wounds weren't as serious like Pete's. I haven't really thought about it, but why?"

"And what about their time of deaths?" Artie continued. "Was there a consistent amount of time between the deaths?"

"I'm not really following you, Artie," Claudia responded as she was confused as to what Artie was getting at.

Vanessa replied, "I think I do. It looks like there was no consistency between the deaths. One of the victims died in their own home alone and the doors and windows were all locked from the inside, so I stated that the woman was definitely attacked earlier. She probably assumed she was being mugged, but managed to escape and decided to go home instead of to the police.

Artie nodded as he responded, "I believe that our killer is drawn to his victims, who manage to survive his attacks."

"Do you mean that our demonic sword and psycho killer cannot kill again until their latest victim is dead and that somehow Pete is like a walking GPS signal?" Claudia asked.

"Exactly," Artie answered and then looked at his protégé worryingly. "Where is Pete right now?"

Claudia suddenly bolted out of the room, followed closely by Artie and Vanessa as she shouted, "I left him alone in the car, while the others went after our guy!"

When they made it back outside, they found that the car's left side rear door was open and Pete was down on the ground, conscious, but in pain. They rushed over to him and Vanessa quickly checked over his vitals, while Artie and Claudia gently helped him to sit up and leaned him up against the car.

Artie quickly asked, "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Pete replied. "I was just trying to get out to help Myka and Kate go after Zorro after I got a vibe he was watching us, but I obviously didn't get very far."

"Why on earth would you even think you could hold up in chase?" Artie asked sarcastically. "You're in no shape to go run a marathon."

Pete responded, "I wanted to be of some use. Myka's my partner. It's my responsibility to…"

Claudia interrupted, "Which is why you called in Kate. They both will be all right. Besides, we just figured out that our Zorro can't kill anyone else until you die first. I mean… Pete, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," Pete answered. "I get it. I suppose I should be grateful he can't hurt anyone else, which gives us time to find him and stop him."

"Not if you try to kill yourself by doing something as stupid as this," Vanessa said. "The more you exert yourself, the faster the demon in the sword is going to drain your life. Do I make myself clear?"

Pete nodded slowly as he replied, "I get it. I don't like it, but I get it."

Artie looked at Vanessa and asked, "So, he's going to be all right; at least for now?"

"For now," the doctor responded solemnly. "But it won't be long before he starts to grow worse, even if he stays in bed from now on."

"Our guy got away again!" Myka shouted angrily as she and Kate came running back over to them. "What happened? Is Pete ok?"

As Myka bent down in front of him and placed her hand on the side of her face, Pete answered, "The doctor said I'm just fine."

Artie replied, "Your partner stupidly tried to chase after the two of you, but I think he's learned from his mistake."

"Pete, you know better than that," Myka responded with more concern in her voice than in frustration.

"Don't worry," Claudia said. "He's already been scolded."

Kate looked on, then finally spoke up saying, "Your killer certainly is pretty slippery. And what is with the costume?"

Pete answered, "He's a Zorro or James Bond wannabe."

"No," Myka replied as she, Vanessa, and Artie carefully helped settle Pete back inside the car. "We believe the man's just trying to keep his identity hidden, although it's a pretty strange way of doing so."

"Not here in New York City it isn't," Claudia responded. "Not that it does much good since we now know who he is."

Artie looked between Myka and Kate and said, "We won't have to go searching for our guy anymore. He'll come to us, in Univille, which means that we're going to have to bring Pete to Leena's instead of to the warehouse."

Myka asked, "What does that mean? I don't understand."

"It turns out that Pete, here, is a human GPS," Claudia answered. "Our psycho's demonic sword can sense where its victims are at all times and the wielder will follow them until they're dead, then it'll move on to the next victim."

"Are you sure?" Myka asked. "What if you're wrong and we lose him for good? Pete will die if we can't destroy 'Stormbringer!"

Artie replied, "He found us just now, didn't he?"

Myka nodded as Kate said, "I'm afraid I can't go with you the rest of the way. My guess is that whatever it is really going on here, is something that I'm not really capable of dealing with. If you were staying here, I would stick with you because Pete asked me to, but in South Dakota, I'm assuming you'll have your own back up. Besides, I need to stay here to continue working on the case I was originally brought here for, before I lose my job."

"Of course," Myka responded. "Thank you for all your help, Kate. I appreciate that you took the time to come here; for Pete."

Kate looked toward Pete and answered, "Pete's a good man. Do whatever it takes to save him and call me when it's all over. Good luck!"

Myka nodded, then Kate turned and walked away. Myka climbed into the back of the care beside Pete to help Vanessa with him, while Artie got behind the wheel to drive and Claudia got into the passenger's seat. Once they were all settled, they headed toward the airport to get on the next flight to the city nearest Univille, South Dakota.


	8. Chapter 8

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Eight

By the time the team made it back to their home at Leena's bed and breakfast, Pete was exhausted and hardly lucid. His vitals were slowly growing weaker, but so far, he was lucky that his body had yet to begin to wither up as the other victims' had. However, it wouldn't be long now before it would. Myka and Claudia held Pete up between them as they helped him up to his room and laid him down on his bed, followed by Vanessa, while Artie walked out to the dining room and began to explain all they had learned in the last two days to Mrs. Frederic and Leena.

Myka and Claudia walked into the room a few minutes later, while Vanessa remained upstairs to take care of Pete. Myka's face was grim, but she fought back her tears and her anger in hopes of remaining strong as she needed to be and it seemed to fool most of the others for now. However, her brave face didn't fool Leena, as the young woman could read Myka's feelings through her aura.

Mrs. Frederic asked, "Did you find out how our killer may have gotten a hold of the demon sword?"

Myka replied, "Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to ask him. We know that he is going to arrive here eventually, which means that we need to figure out how to set a trap for him. We cannot lose him again, or we may not catch him in time to save Pete and I won't accept that; not again."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to hurry," Vanessa spoke up as she slowly walked into the room. "What's happened to the others is beginning to happen to him. The physical affects appear to be coming on slowly, but he's in a lot of pain and he's extremely frail. We don't have long; maybe twenty-four hours, if we're lucky."

"That doesn't give us hardly any time at all," Claudia responded. "What if our perp chose not to follow after us? If he can sense Pete's pain and death, what if he chose to stay behind and wait until he's free to stock his next victim in New York City?"

Myka shook her head and answered, "No, 'Stormbringer' lusts for blood and the closer the demon is to its victims, the stronger it feels. In all of the author's books about 'Stormbringer,' the wielder always follows its victims."

Artie looked at her and asked, "I thought you said you hadn't actually read the books before, only heard of them?"

"I skimmed through them on the plane," Myka replied as she stood and headed to leave the room. "He's here somewhere. You must come up with a plan to find and capture him. I doubt we can depend on Pete getting another vibe to help us."

"Isn't there an artifact that we could use to track him?" Claudia asked as Myka left the room and headed upstairs to be with Pete.

Artie responded, "I've got my compass and if that doesn't work, we'll find something else. Surely, you must have some kind of trick up your sleeves, Mrs. Frederic?"

The stern woman answered, "I'm sure I can come up with something. As Dr. Calder said, we must work fast."

Myka walked up the stairs and reluctantly entered into Pete's room. It wasn't because she didn't want to, but because it scared her to see Pete so fragile. It wasn't like him, as he was always so full of life. It was times like these that made Myka wish that she never had heard of Warehouse 13 because it hurt her to have to watch the people she cared about slowly die in front of her.

"This kind of reminds me of the time… the time when you became affected by Man Ray's camera… however long ago that was," Pete said softly and weakly as Myka sat down in a chair beside his bed and took a hold of his hand.

"Yeah, I know," Myka said as she smiled down at him. "I was pretty scared then too, but I knew that I could depend on you to save my life. You did."

Pete smiled and replied, "I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?"

Myka tried to sound optimistic as she responded, "You are awesome, Pete. You're the best partner I've ever had. We're going to find our Zorro and we're going to stop him. We're going to save you."

"You called him Zorro," Pete said as he chuckled, but suddenly tensed up in pain.

Myka jumped up from the chair, sat down on the bed, and held him in her arms to comfort him until the pain passed. As she held him close, she could see how frail and thin he was slowly becoming. He was withering away and it was at that moment, that she felt truly helpless and terrified.

"You're going to be all right, Pete," she cried. "I need you to fight this."

Pete smiled as best as he could and answered, "Believe me, I don't want to die because of an artifact. I'll hold out as long as I can, but Myka, I need you to know something. I want to thank… thank you for believing in me."

Myka looked down at him as tears formed in her eyes and she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You trusted me to be your partner, even after losing Sam and after you learned how screwed up I was back then," he replied so quietly, it was more like a whisper. "If it wasn't for you, and Artie, and Claudia, I would still be lost. If I do die…, I need you to know how grateful I am for everything."

"You weren't the only one who was messed up, Pete," Myka said solemnly. "I was lost too. If it weren't for you, I would never have reconciled with my father and I would never have found a second family. Just keep fighting and we'll take care of the rest."

Pete smiled, then closed his eyes as he allowed his body to relax as best as he could, while Myka continued to hold him for comfort, not just for him, but for herself as well. If she had to resort to using another artifact to keep him alive until they could destroy the artifact that hurt him, Myka realized then that she would do just that despite any risk to herself.


	9. Chapter 9

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Nine

While Myka remained upstairs with Pete, Artie, Vanessa, Claudia, Leena, and Mrs. Frederic remained in the dining room discussing options on how to capture their killer, Reed Harlan. However, as they continued their conversation, a knock at the door interrupted them. Artie looked at his watch as he was surprised by a visitor coming by at the late hour, while Leena stepped out to see who it was. A minute later, she walked back into the room, followed by Jane, Pete's mom and leader of the Regents.

The woman walked up to Artie and asked fearfully, "How is my son, Artie?"

Artie answered solemnly, "Oh Jane, I'm so sorry, I didn't think to call you myself."

"It's all right," Jane replied. "Mrs. Frederic informed me. How is he?"

"I'm afraid he's not doing well," Artie responded sadly. "But he's hanging in there. He's up in his room with Myka. She's looking over him."

Jane turned to Vanessa and asked, "Dr. Calder, tell me the truth. How much time do we have before the effects of this demon in the sword kills my son?"

Vanessa answered, "As long as Pete cooperates and remains in bed as he should, I'm afraid we have just under twenty-four hours."

"We know how to destroy the sword and we believe that by doing so will reverse the affects," Artie said. "We also know that our killer is somewhere here in Univille, as he always follows any of his victims, who do not die right away in order to… well never mind why. We just know that he's here somewhere. What we don't know is, how to track him down in order to capture him."

"We tried Artie's compass we've used to track down other things, but it isn't working on Zorro," Claudia replied.

Jane looked at the young computer tech and responded, "Zorro? Why do you call him that?"

Artie answered, "That would be the name Pete came up with for him earlier, since he wears a mask, a cape, and kills with a sword."

"I see," Jane said as she smiled at her son's humor, then turned and headed out of the room to go upstairs. "I'm going upstairs to see him now. And Artie, do whatever it is you have to do to. I almost lost him when Sykes threatened him. I will not lose him now; not to this job."

Jane slowly walked upstairs and when she entered the room, she found Myka sitting on the side of her son's bed while she gently used warm water and a rag to wipe down Pete's body, as he was burning up. Seeing Pete lying before her so frail and barely conscious was shocking, even though she knew what to expect when she walked in. It was terrifying.

"Jane!" Myka called out in surprise when she saw his mother walk in, then stood as the guardian walked over to the bed. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so sorry, I should have called you."

Jane placed a hand on Myka's shoulder as she replied softly, "As I already told Artie, there was no need. Mrs. Frederic informed me as soon as it happened. How is he holding up?"

They both looked down at Pete as Myka sadly responded, "Not good. I know that Vanessa said we've got almost a full day, but… he's suffering, Jane. He's in a lot of pain. What if we can't…?"

"We will save him, Myka," Jane answered firmly as she took Myka's place on the bed and ran her hand along her son's face. "I have complete faith in you; all of you."

"Mom, is that… is that you?" Pete asked just above a whisper, as he was finding it hard to talk.

The woman replied, "It's me, Sweetheart. I'm here to help your friends. You just concentrate on getting better. You're going to be fine."

Pete responded, "I know, but you need to be careful. Something's about… about to happen. I've got a… a vibe."

Just as Myka was about to ask him what he meant, the door suddenly swung wide open and in the doorway stood their killer with 'Stormbringer' in hand. Both Jane and Myka quickly moved to stand between the masked man and the bed in order to try to defend Pete, who struggled to sit up and move from the bed.

Harlan only smiled as Jane pulled out a tesla gun, which she always carried with her, and Myka pulled out her service revolver and smugly said, "You can't stop us. You already tried."

"A tesla gun may not have an effect on you, but do you think you're bulletproof?" Myka asked as he began to move closer. "Stay back or I'll put a bullet in your chest. More than one if I have to."

"No you won't," the killer answered as he swung the sword up, cutting through the barrel of Myka's gun as if it was a knife slicing through butter, making the gun worthless. "We've come for him. Unless you want to die, we suggest you back away."

"We can help you, Reed," Myka cried out as she and Jane both fell to the ground by the foot of the bed, after they dodged out of the way of the sword as the man swung it hard at their heads. "Please, let us help you. Give us the sword so that we can save you and Pete. You'll be free of the sword's influence."

The man moved forward, while Myka and Jane remained on the ground and slowly back away from the man as he replied, "We don't want to be freed. We are one. We will live forever. We will not gain your souls, but we can still kill you."

Using adrenaline to push himself from off the bed, Pete suddenly jumped on top of the man and pulled off the mask covering his eyes in order to distract him long enough for his mom and Myka to get clear. The attack was unexpected, as it was enough of a distraction to cause Harlan to drop 'Stormbringer,' but the man quickly overpowered Pete and threw him down to the floor beside the sword.

Jane stood and moved forward to try to defend her son, but Harlan quickly struck her hard across the face, causing her to fall backward once again. Myka moved to catch her to keep her from falling to the ground. As she did so, Reed turned and leaned down to pick up the sword in order to finish Pete off, but as he did so, Pete suddenly grabbed the sword himself and thrust it up into Reed Harlan's chest.

Myka and Jane watched helplessly as the sword's power flowed from their attacker, through 'Stormbringer,' and then into Pete, then Myka cried out, "Pete!"

Harlan fell to floor dead, just as their friends from downstairs came running up into the room. Jane and Myka slowly moved toward Pete as he stood from the floor, while holding the sword in his hand, and they could see that his frailness was disappearing, but that his eyes were cold and distant.

However, they soon became clear as Pete called out, "I have to destroy this thing. You have to destroy this thing; no matter what happens to me. I'm sorry!"

It was then that Pete suddenly bolted from the room past Artie and Claudia and ran downstairs and out the door as Artie asked, "What on earth just happened?"

"Our attacker somehow broke in here and attacked us, but my son stopped him," Jane answered fearfully. "The sword was his only defense. It's got a hold of him now."

"You saw how Pete resisted its power just then before he ran," Myka responded. "He only killed Harlan to save us, but he won't hurt anyone else. He'll fight 'Stormbringer' long enough for us to find him and destroy it."

"Myka's right," Artie replied. "And I know exactly how we can find him; Henry Morton Stanley's map."

Mrs. Frederic spoke up saying, "The map that allows us to see where someone has been within the last twelve hours. We can use it to track Lattimer down. Excellent, Artie."

Claudia asked, "But even when we do find him, how are we going to get the sword away from him, without hurting him?"

"I think, I've got an idea for that too," Artie said. "We need to get back to the warehouse. Don't worry, Jane. We'll save him and before the demon can take complete control over him. He's going to be fine."

"I hope you're right, Artie," the Regent leader answered. "I hope you're right."


	10. Chapter 10

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Ten

By the time Myka, Artie, Claudia, Jane, and Vanessa had arrived at the warehouse, Mrs. Frederic was already there holding the map they were seeking in her hands. The keeper of Warehouse 13 slowly opened it as they crowded around her, hoping that it would reveal to them where Pete was at that moment.

"It appears that Lattimer is here, right now," Mrs. Frederic said.

"He's here?" Artie asked in surprise. "But why would he be…? Oh God!"

Myka knew what Artie was getting at as she replied, "He's here because he's trying to destroy the sword before it takes over him completely. Pete's trying to fight it; just like he did the time he was taken over by the scarab."

Claudia spoke up as she responded, "Which means he is heading to the Lehmann Fornax; the only fire powerful enough to destroy a demonic sword created by a bunch of creepy, psycho, chaos loving gods."

"We need to get there right away," Artie said quickly. "No matter how much Pete wants to destroy it, the demon will not allow him to and Pete cannot overpower its strength over him. He will not be Pete for much longer."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Jane cried. "Let's go, now!"

They rushed through the aisles as quickly as they could go. Sadly, there was no way to get there any faster except for on foot. By the time they reached the room and stepped inside, they all saw that the door shielding the earth's core was wide open, then they all looked up to the balcony by the controls of the furnace and saw Pete down on his knees in agony, with the sword still in hand.

Jane rushed forward and shouted, "Pete, Sweetheart, hold on! We're here. We're all here."

"I can't do it!" Pete cried out in pain. "The demon, it won't let me! I tried, but…"

"That's why we're here to help you, Pete," Myka answered as she moved in front of Jane and began to climb up the ladder, leading up to the balcony. "We will destroy it together. Just keep fighting it."

Pete raised his head and they could see his eyes glowed red as he suddenly shouted out in anger, "You cannot stop us! We are more powerful than any of you weak, pathetic humans!"

Everyone knew that the demon was forcing Pete to say those words as Jane moved forward again and firmly replied to the demon, "You're wrong. My son is much stronger than you realize. He made it here to where you will meet your end."

"We are in control," the demon once again spoke through Pete. "We will kill each of you."

"Then, you will have to start with me," Myka said as she made it to the top of the balcony and quickly pulled out her tesla gun, while Pete rose and stood tall in front of her. "Come on, Pete, keep fighting. You won't hurt me. You are stronger than 'Stormbringer.' You have already proved it. I've got my gloves on. Gently, hand me the sword and I will take care of it for you. We can do it together; as we always have. Please, Pete!"

Pete suddenly lashed out in anger as he swung the demonic sword directly at her, causing the blade to cut a gash across her right arm, but just as suddenly, the red glow in his eyes faded as Pete blinked and looked at Myka with his own eyes and whispered, "Myka, I'm so sorry. Oh God; I hurt you!"

Artie shouted out, "Myka, we've got to do something now! I'm coming up! Hang on!"

"No, stay there!" she called back. "I'm fine! Pete, this isn't your fault, but I need you to gently hand me the sword now while you're in control."

"I can't!" Pete cried as he struggled against the pressure and the voice in his head ordering him to finish her off. "But you can stop this. You can stop this once and for all. I'm sorry it had to end this way."

"You're sorry that what had to end this…" Myka began to ask until she was shocked into silence as she and the others watched fearfully when Pete suddenly thrust the sword into his own abdomen, then roughly pulled it back out, and dropped the demonic sword to the floor of the balcony. "Pete!"

As Jane watched her son collapse to the ground, she cried out, "No, Peter!"

Vanessa rushed forward to climb up the ladder to help Myka with Pete, while Claudia buried her head against Artie's shoulder fear and sadness, as Artie called out, "Myka, the sword; you must destroy it now!"

Myka ran forward to help her partner as soon as he collapsed, momentarily forgetting about the sword with which he had just stabbed himself with, that is until Artie shouted for her to destroy it. As he did, Myka spread out her right foot and kicked the sword off of the balcony, causing 'Stormbringer' to fall into the lava surrounding the earth's core. As it melted down, large sparks blew out and everyone could hear the demon's cries.

As Vanessa finally reached them, Myka was holding Pete in her arms as she wept openly over his face. The brief weakness she felt from the sword's wound in her arm faded as it was finally destroyed, but she hardly noticed as she concentrated on holding her hand tightly over the large wound in his stomach. The doctor took over for her, as Myka then moved her free hand to Pete's face. Tears fell from his eyes as he weakly looked up into hers.

Myka whispered, "You're going to be all right, Pete. Just hang on."

"Is it… is it over?" Pete asked roughly as he fought to breathe. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, it's over," Myka answered softly. "And I'm fine. You did it. I just wish that you didn't do it like this."

Pete responded, "I had… no choice. It was the… only way…"

Her partner closed his eyes tightly and tensed up in pain as the door behind them suddenly opened and in rushed his mother, who collapsed on his other side, followed by Artie and Claudia. Artie quickly rushed over to the switch that would close the door over the core and pulled it down. As it closed, he moved back to stand behind Claudia, as they looked on in fear.

As Pete struggled to breathe, while his eyes remained closed, Jane looked to Vanessa for answers, but as she did so, the doctor sadly shook her head and said sadly, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. The wound has cut all the way through and the damage, the damage is too severe to repair. He's lost too much blood. I'm…"

"P.T. Barnum's top," Myka suddenly interrupted.

"What did you say?" Jane asked as she tears fell down her face.

Artie rushed out the door as Myka replied, "The top can heal his wounds. It healed Artie."

Vanessa shook her head as she responded, "But Artie's appendix was one organ that needed repaired and it was only temporary until I could arrive to remove it."

"Perhaps the top will heal Pete enough so that you can do what you need to do to save him," Claudia answered. "We can't lose him. I won't lose Pete, like I lost Steve. Pete's like a brother to us and we need him."

"Claudia's right, Vanessa," Myka replied. "Artie's gone to get the artifact. We need you to do whatever it takes to save him; please!"

Vanessa nodded as she said, "Of course I'll do the best I can. I just hope that the top is enough."

Jane leaned down close to her son's face as she whispered, "Hang in there, Sweetheart. You're going to be all right. I am so proud of you!"


	11. Chapter 11

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Eleven

As Artie came running back with the top, he found that the others had carefully moved Pete down from the balcony, to the floor underneath it, where there was more space for them all to take care of him until he was well enough to be moved to a place more comfortable. If they moved him any further, he would bleed out. By that time, Pete was extremely pale and barely breathing.

Both Jane and Myka hold onto Pete tightly, while Claudia, Leena, and Mrs. Frederic loomed above looking on. Artie pushed his way into the crowd, knelt down above Pete, and placed P. T. Barnum's top just above the large wound. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but after a minute, the artifact began to glow and the wound slowly began to heal.

As the artifact appeared to finish its job, Pete suddenly shot up as he seemed to breathe easier, but the paleness in his skin remained and the blood flow continued, though it was slower than before. As the doctor expected, the wound was not completely healed, but Vanessa believed it was just enough so that she would be able to repair the rest of the damage in time to save Pete's life.

"How is his wound doctor?" Jane asked nervously. "Can you repair the rest of the damage?"

"I promise you, I will do all that I can," Vanessa answered. "Jane and Myka, I need you to very gently, guide Pete up to the office, so that he will be as comfortable as we can make him, while I work on him. Artie, Claudia, can you prepare a makeshift bed we can lay him on? I'm going to collect what I'm going to need to operate."

Everyone did as the doctor asked as swiftly as possible and soon, Dr. Calder was ready to repair the damage done by the sword. She had set up a morphine drip in order to help Pete with the pain, but it wasn't long before Pete finally and mercifully fell unconscious after the doctor began to cut into him.

Jane stayed as close to her son as Vanessa allowed her to be without getting in the doctor's way, while Myka hung back and observed from a distance, though she wanted to be closer in hopes of passing along some of her strength into her partner. Seeing Pete so fragile and quiet made her feel unsettled and more afraid than she had ever felt before in her life, even back when she watched her last partner and lover, Sam, as he was killed right in front of her. Myka had been partners with Pete in less time than she had been with Sam, but she felt that she knew Pete much better.

Claudia sat at the computer and worked on odd jobs in order to keep distracted from what was going on behind her, though she remained in the room for support. Leena sat down on the couch beside Mrs. Frederic as the two of them sat back quietly to observe the doctor as she worked. As for Artie, he disappeared for bit, but eventually came back into the office carrying cookies, in hopes of giving some comfort to his family.

Artie noticed that the expression on Myka's face was blank as she just stared down at her partner and so he slowly walked over next to her and said softly, "You know, it's been more than two days since you've had any sleep. You're exhausted. There is nothing you can do for Pete right now. Why don't you go and get some sleep?"

Myka blinked and looked over at Artie as she responded, "I can't leave him now, Artie; no matter how tired I am. Just because I can't do anything to help him without getting in Vanessa's way, doesn't mean that I don't need to be here. He's my partner and if it were me, he'd stay by my side, just as he did when I was affected by the camera. Besides, I couldn't sleep, even if I wanted to."

"Pete's going to be all right," Artie replied confidently as he looked over at the younger agent with a Peter Pan complex. "It took, unimaginable strength in order to overpower the demon when he thrust the sword into himself to protect us and defeat it. I may constantly tell him to grow up and to stop acting like a child, but it's those qualities that make him who he is and I admire him, just as I admire you for your own qualities you bring to this team. Don't ever tell him I told you that. He'll never let me live it down."

"Did Pete ever tell you why he listens to his vibes?" Myka asked Artie after remaining silent for a few minutes.

Artie looked at her in surprise as he answered, "No, I don't think he ever did. I just assumed it was because he was well in tune with the world around him, just like his mother."

Myka nodded as she said, "Yes, but there's more to it than that. Pete said that on the night before his father died, he had had an overwhelming feeling that he was never going to see his father again, but he didn't say anything because he didn't want him or his mother to see how scared he was. Pete said that he listens to his vibes now, because the one time he didn't, was when he should have the most."

"I always knew that my son blamed himself for his father's death, but I had no idea it was the reason he chose to listen so closely to his gut feelings," Jane responded as she looked up from her vigil over Pete. "He never told me he had a vibe warning him of his father's death. Perhaps if I worked harder to be closer to him…"

"You can't blame yourself, Jane," Myka replied softly as she placed a hand gently on the Regent leader's shoulder. "Pete is very tightlipped when it comes to his own fears and weaknesses."

Jane turned back to her son as she said to Myka and Artie quietly, "The both of you believe that Pete's going to survive. I wish that I could feel your confidence. It isn't that I don't believe in his strength. It's just that I'm so afraid this job is going to take him away from me. How often can one person cheat death?"

Myka answered firmly, "If anyone can defy all odds set against him, it's Pete."


	12. Chapter 12

Drinker of Souls

Chapter Twelve

A week and a half passed by since the team's latest case ended and normally, they would all be gathered together at Leena's to celebrate a job well done with Artie's cookies, while they exaggerated their stories about all they did to find the artifact and save the people affected by them. However, no one was in the mood to celebrate this time, since there was no bagging and tagging, no gooing, and certainly no happy ending.

Sure, the artifact had been destroyed, but this time there had been too high a cost. Though Pete managed to survive the long surgery Vanessa had performed to save his life, he had developed a dangerously high fever, making it so that the young man had to eventually be moved to a hospital and put on a ventilator. He had yet to wake up from a coma.

After a few days, Jane was called out of town for a Regent meeting and even though she tried to get out of it, she eventually realized the importance of it, as it involved her son. The Regents had all been called to determine whether or not another warehouse agent should be called in to take Agent Lattimer's place, as his condition and his sanity was still unknown. Apparently, more than half of them voted for Pete to be removed. However, Jane fought on his behalf, despite a part of her wishing that this experience would be enough so that he would no longer be placed in danger.

Myka remained with Pete in the hospital, while Artie and Claudia stayed at the warehouse to deal with any new artifacts that came up. Thankfully, the next week was quite slow. They came to visit as often as they could, along with Leena and once in a while, even Mrs. Frederic would show up to check in on him.

Late one night, Myka was sitting by Pete's bedside reading one of her books, when the door suddenly opened and in walked Kate Logan. The FBI agent smiled down at Myka, who stood as she entered. Kate remained silent as she stared down at a man, whom she had dated pretty briefly, but still cared about.

"How is he doing?" Kate asked after a few minutes. "After I heard he was in the hospital, I came as soon as I could. He looks terrible."

"He's stable; at least for now," Myka answered sadly. "It's a long story. I'm sure he'd appreciate you coming all this way."

Kate nodded and then asked, "Did you find the guy you guys were looking for? I take it he was the one, who did this?"

Myka responded, "He is responsible for this, yes. It's a long story, but yeah, we caught the guy. We did what we could to save him, but in the end, Pete had to kill him to save us. He was hurt doing so."

"If I know anything about Pete, I know that he's strong willed and too stubborn to let some psycho in a costume kill him," Kate replied as she chuckled.

"I know," Myka answered back as she chuckled as well. "It doesn't make the waiting any easier though. This is the worst it's ever been. I mean, he's been through some rough times before, but he's usually recovered much quicker than this."

Kate smiled as she responded, "He's just milking it for the attention, for as long as he can. You know how he is."

Myka laughed out loud and said, "Yeah, I do. Thank you, Kate, and thank you for coming. May I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course," the FBI agent replied. "You can ask me anything."

"Do you think that you and Pete will ever…?" Myka began.

Kate interrupted, "Will we ever get back together? No; if it were up to me, then I might say yes, but the truth is, it was Pete, who broke it off with me. I wasn't there for him when he needed me to be and now, well, I'd say he's found what's he's been searching for, for a long time and I am not a part of it, but you are."

Myka smiled as she answered, "Thank you, Kate."

"No problem," Kate said, then leaned down and kissed Pete's forehead. "Call me to let me know when he's awake and tell him goodbye for me. I wish you well, Myka."

"You too," the warehouse agent responded as Kate turned and walked out of the room.

An hour later, Jane walked into the room and silently sat down in the chair on the opposite side from where Myka was sitting as she was once again reading to herself. Myka put her book down and looked anxiously at the Regent leader for news on their decision about her partner.

Jane spoke up saying, "Once Pete fully recovers, he is welcome to remain a secret agent for Warehouse 13."

Myka smiled and then asked, "Was it a tough call?"

"Unfortunately, yes and it took me several days to convince them Pete was one of the best warehouse agents we've ever had, but in the end, I won," Jane answered. "Those, who didn't want Pete to remain an agent, fought that I was bias because I am his mother. I managed to prove to them that Pete earned his rightful place here, without my influence."

"Thank you, Jane," Myka replied as Jane took her son's hand in one of hers, then used her free hand to rub along his face.

Jane responded, "I know how much this job means to Pete. I may not always like it, but the two of you are the best we've ever had. By the way, Pete told me some time ago that your father's recovery had a lot to do with you reading to him. Perhaps you can help my son too."

Jane reached her hand into her jacket, pulled out a book, and handed it to Myka, who asked, "Harold and the Purple Crayon? I used to love this book when I was a little girl."

"So did Pete. In fact, he still does. It was, or is, his favorite book," the older woman answered. "He just may not admit it."

"No, he only likes to admit that he's into comics and superheroes," Myka said. "He'd never admit he loved a classic. He's got an image to uphold."

Pete suddenly spoke up quietly, "It's not fair that you mock me… when I can't defend myself."

Both Jane and Myka looked down in surprise and saw that he was slowly blinking his eyes as he struggled to wake. Jane quickly, but carefully grabbed one of his hands in hers, while Myka took a hold of the other. Pete looked between his mother and his partner and smiled when he saw that they were both crying.

"It's about time you woke up, partner!" Myka cried. "Welcome back!"

"All thanks to all of you," Pete replied. "I thought about waiting to wake up, just to hear you read to me too, but I figured that I've put you all through enough."

Claudia, Artie, and Leena suddenly walked into the room and when they saw that Pete was finally awake, they began to cheer and Claudia jumped into the bed beside the man she considered her big brother. It hurt him a little as she did so and she quickly apologized as she moved over a bit to give him more room.

Artie said, "It's good to see you finally awake. I was beginning to worry that I would have to break in another agent. It's too much work."

Pete looked over at Artie and smiled as he asked, "Did you bring me any cookies?"

"And the Dude is back," Claudia responded. "No matter what the situation, he's always thinking about his stomach."

"In my defense, I've been in the hospital for…" Pete tried to retort.

Myka replied, "You've been out for a week and a half. That was a really stupid thing you did, by the way."

Pete knew that she was talking about stabbing himself to stop himself from hurting his friends, but instead he looked up at her and lightly asked," What are you talking about? According to each of you, I do a lot of stupid things. I'm a big kid at heart, remember?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Myka said.

"I did what I had to do," Pete answered solemnly. "Besides, I knew that all of you would save me. It's what we do."

Artie smiled and responded, "That's right. It's what we do. And no, I did not bring you any cookies, but as soon as you're well enough to finally leave this horrid place, I promise there'll be a big batch with your name on it."

Pete nodded and said, "All right, all right. Did Vanessa already leave? I was hoping to thank her."

"I'm sure she already knows, but I'll be sure to pass along your message when I give her my thanks as well," Jane replied. "I'm so glad you're going to be all right, Peter. You had me so worried."

"Sorry about that, Mom," Pete answered. "But I promise I won't be going anywhere, anytime soon. Besides, I look forward to our trip coming up with my sister. I wouldn't miss that for the world."

Jane nodded and responded, "She's looking forward to seeing you too. I should probably get going. I have a dozen of meetings I've put off for too long. You get better. I love you."

As she stood and kissed him on his forehead one last time, he said, "Bye, Mom."

Three weeks later, Pete and Myka were chasing after an escaped criminal, who had escaped from prison three years ago, with the help of none other than James McPherson, after which he sold the man, Jesse James' colt. The convict managed to disappear since then, but resurfaced after the gun began to make him grow insane after trying to use it in a courthouse shooting. Thankfully, the agents were there in time to stop him from hurting anyone too seriously.

By the time they finally cornered the man and Myka struck him down using her tesla gun, Pete raised his arms up in the air and shouted, "Yee-ha! Good shootin, Partner!"

Myka laughed at Pete's cowboy reference and replied, "It's good to have you back, Pete."

"It's good to be back!" the younger man responded excitedly. "It's good to be back!"

The End


	13. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have read and have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I'm honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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